Ventilated boot



April 1962 s. v. GIANOLA 3,027,659

VENTILATED BOOT Filed July 16, 1957 Jar! 50 Z m0 [a J 1 gfi wfww United States Patent 3,027,659 VENTILATED BOOT Salvatore V. Gianola, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Marbill Company, Providence, R.I., a corporation of Rhode Island Filed July 16, 1957, Ser. No. 672,306 1 Claim. (Cl. 363) This invention relates to footwear and more especially to ventilation thereof.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide an insulated boot of the kind sometimes called an Arctic boot, which is especially constructed with double walls between which there is interposed a thick layer of insulation, with means to ventilate it when desired to minimize perspiration and hence to provide maximum foot comfort, to provide a boot of the foregoing kind in which ventilation is effected by forced circulation of air through the foot pocket, to provide a boot in which the circulation of air is produced by the act of walking, to provide a boot in which the circulation of air may be accomplished without danger of entrance of water or snow, and to provide a boot in which the circulation may be terminated at will. Another object is to provide a boot in which the air circulating means will not chafe the foot or otherwise injure or irritate it or stiffen the boot so as to subject the foot to undue strain. Still other objects are to provide a boot wherein the circulating means is inexpensive to manufacture, can be incorporated in the boot without departure from its normal construction and will be serviceable throughout the life of the boot without need for repair or Servicing in. any manner.

As herein illustrated, the boot has incorporated in the foot portion means operable by the act of walking to induct air, circulate it through the foot pocket and expel it. In one form the aforesaid means is a pump which is adapted to be compressed and to expand and has an inlet port connected to the exterior of the boot through which air is inducted into the pump from the exterior by expansion of the pump and a discharge port connected to the interior of the boot through which air inducted into the pump by expansion thereof, is ejected from the pump into the boot by compression of the pump. The inlet and discharge ports contain appropriate check valves to control the fiow of air. The pump may be situated at the bottom or at a higher level, for example, at the instep or in the leg. Preferably the pump is situated at the heel end of the bottom where the pressure of the heel effects its operation, however, it may be placed between the walls of the upper at the instep so that it will be operated by bending as the upper is flexed during walking. The induced air is forced out of the pump and transmitted forwardly into the toe pocket during the compression by a conductor extending from the pump along the side of the boot pocket between its walls, the rear end of the conductor being connected to the discharge port and the forward end terminating in the toe pocket. Air already in the toe pocket is displaced by the injected air, for example, upwardly along the leg and out through the top of the boot or through a port provided in the leg. A screw valve in the port provides for opening or closing it at will. Instead of discharging the displaced air from the top of the boot or through the aforesaid valve, the pump may be of dual construction, that is, it may have one part which operates to draw air into the boot and another part to expel air from the boot. The second part corresponds to the first part in that it has two ports, an inlet port which is connected to the foot pocket by a conductor extending along the side of the foot between the walls, the forward end of which terminates in the foot pocket and the rear end of which is connected to the inlet port of the pump, and a discharge port through which air drawn into the pump from the foot pocket is expelled through a conductor extending therefrom and through the rear wall of the boot.

When the pump is situated between the walls at the instep it has one or more ports connecting it to the interior of the foot pocket and a port connecting it to the exterior of the boot. There are check valves in the ports so that upon compression air previously drawn into the pump from the boot is expelled and upon expansion air which is in the boot is drawn into the pump. In this form the air enters the boot through the top opening or through a valve as aforesaid in the leg. I The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 in a side elevation of a boot of the kind in which this invention is employed, showing one form of ventilating means in dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation of the boot showing the inlet and discharge openings;

FIG. 3 is a top or plan view of the boot broken away in part to show the circulating conductors at the toe of the boot;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the pump used in the boot as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 inclusive;

FIG. 5 is a'horizontal section of the pump to smaller scale;

FIG. 6 is an elevation at the rear of the boot with a modified ventilating means;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the modified ventilating means employed in the boot shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an elevation partly in section of a boot with the pump located at the instep;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the pump used in the boot shown in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a check valve such as is used in the valve ports and pump conductors.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a heavily insulated boot 10, of the kind referred to as an Arctic, having a lower foot portion 12 and an upper extension or shaft portion 14. The foot portion includes a thick sole 16 and heel 18. The foot portion and the upper extension are of double wall construction and between the walls there is situated a thick padding of insulation 20 of some fibrous material which will resist penetration of extreme cold. The foot portion 12, at the lower part of the boot, which is adapted to receive the foot for convenience, will be called the foot pocket, and as herein illustrated comprises the space 8, which includes the toe and heel portions of the foot. The shaft portion 114 is adapted to encase the leg.

Because of the double wall construction and the thickness and character of both the upper and insulation which is designed to protect the foot at extremely low temperatures, the foot is likely to become uncomfortably warm if the temperature rises somewhat above the extreme conditions for which the boot is designed. The prime function of the invention is to provide ventilation for the foot thereby to keep it dry and hence as comfortable as possible.

In accordance with the invention ventilation is obtained by employing an air pump which is designed to be incorporated in the boot and to be actuated by the act of walking to introduce air into the boot, to displace air already in the boot and to discharge the displaced air.

In one form, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 inclusive, a pump 22 (FIGS. 4 and 5) is placed in the heel end of the boot so that the heel of the wearer rests on the pump or upon an insole or sock lining member superposed thereabove. The pump may merely rest on the bottom of the boot at the heel so that it may be removed if desired or it may be built into the heel end at the bottom by provid- 3 ing a recess into which it can be fitted. The pump is comprised of two blocks 24 and 26 of sponge rubber, covered on their outer surfaces with membranes of inipervious rubber 28. The blocks are placed edge to edge and are symmetrical with respect to their contacting edges and so shaped as to fit into the heal area. If desired, the two blocks may be made as a unit with a single membrane therebetween, as shown in FIG. 5. There are ports in the membrane at the rear end of the blocks and tubes 3t) and 32 are connected to the respective ports and extend rearwardly therefrom through holes in the back wall of the boot, as shown in FIG. 2. The tubes are suitably cemented or vulcanized in place so that there is no chance for leakage where they pass through the wall of the boot. The tube 30 contains a check valve 34 which admits air but prevents its secape and the tube 32 contains a check valve 36 which prevents admission of air but permits its discharge. There 'are additional ports in the membranes at the sides of the blocks and the rear ends of a pair of conductors 38 and 42 are connected to these ports. The conductors 3 8 and 42 extend forwardly from the pump along the sides of the foot pocket between its walls and in all boots for flight personnel, its function being to release air pressure within the boot at high altitudes. The valve has a screw threaded valve element 64 and as herein employed in combination with the pump, may be opened to permit escape of air or closed if the temperature is too low or if the wearer is walking through water or snow which is above the elevation of the valve. Obviously, the position of the valve may be changed to the back,

terminate at their forward ends in the foot pocket. A

check valve 40 is located in the conductor 38 near its forward ends which permits air to be forced through the conductor into the boot but prevents withdrawal of air therefrom. A check valve 44 is located in the conductor 42 which allows air to be drawn out of the boot but prevents air from being ejected into the boot. As thus constructed, during the act of walking the weight of the person wearing the boot alternately compresses and allows the blocks to'expand. During the compression of the pump any air that is in the pores of the block 24 is forced through the conductor 38 and the valve 40 into the toe pocket and any air that is in the pores of the block 26 is ejected through the valve 36 and tube 32 to the exterior of the boot. During expansion air is drawn through the tube 30 and valve 34 into the block 24 so as to fill its pores and air in the boot is drawn through the valve 44 and tube 42 into the pores of the block 26. Thus there is a continuous induction and ejecting of air accompanied by a circulation of air through the foot pocket.

To avoid any possibility of water or snow gaining access to the boot it may be desirable to locate the inlet and discharge tubes above the bottom or sole member. Accordingly, a construction such as is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 may be employed. Although a dual pump could be employed, as described above, with the inlet and outlet tubes located above the bottom in the leg, as here shown, a single pump comprised of a single block 48 of sponge rubber covered with an impervious rubber membrane 59 is employed. The pump has an inlet port 52 through the membrane at its rear end, with which there is connected a conductor 54. The conductor 54 extends upwardly from the pump between the walls at the back of the boot and has an inlet end 56 which extends through the outer wall at the back, as shown in FIG. 6, well above the ankle. A check valve 58 is located in the inlet end which admits air to the block but prevents discharge. There is a pair of discharge ports through the membrane at opposite sides of the block to which the rear ends of a pair of conductors 60 are connected. The conductors 69 extend forwardly therefrom through the walls of the boot and terminate at their forward ends in the foot pocket. These conductors contain check valves 62 which permit air to enter the boot but not to be withdrawn therefrom. During walking a compression of the block 48 forces air which is in the pores of the block through the conductors 60 and valves 62 into the foot pocket.

During expansion of the block air is drawn from the outside through the valve 58 and the conductor 54 into the pores of the block. As thus constructed, the air a1- ready in the boot is displaced and is discharged either through the leg opening at the top of the boot or through a valve port located in the leg of the boot, as is provided front or the other side or to a higher level if desired.

It is to be observed that by reversing the position of the check valves the pump action will draw air out of the foot pocket instead of forcing cooling air into the foot pocket. When this is the case cool air will enter through the top of the boot or through the valve in the leg.

Instead of placing the pump at the heel end of the boot which, because of its thickness adds to the thickness of the bottom member, and the elevation of the foot from the ground, it may be placed between the walls of the boot at the instep as shown in FIG. 8. When located at the instep the pump differs somewhat in construetion and, as shown in FIG. 9, comprises a block 66 of substantially rectangular shape with a pair of port nipples 68, in which there are check valves 70 for admitting air to the pump from the foot pocket, and a discharge port nipple 72 containing a check valve 74 for discharging air from the pump to the exterior. The port nipples 68 pass through the inner wall and connect the pump to the interior of the foot pocket and the port nipple 72 passes through the exterior wall and connects the pump to the exterior at the instep. The block 66, as shown in FIG. 9, is so located at the instep that during walking it is bent and thus compressed. During compression any air that is contained in the pores of the block is forced out through the check valve 74 and port 72. As the block straightens out and expands air within the boot is drawn through the ports 68 and check valves 70 into the block.

In each instance the pump is of very simple construction and the check valves are comprised of thin walled tubular elements, such as shown in FIG. 10, fitted into the conductors, which have normally collapsed end portions 76 so that they will permit air to pass through in one direction but will block its passage in the opposite direction,

The pumps and conductors in each instance are buried within the bottom and wall structure of the boot so that they do not interfere with the comfort of the foot nor do they stiffen or make walking more difficult and yet they function efficiently and produce an effective circulation of air which assists in keeping the foot dry and free from perspiration. The component parts of the pump elements are made of rubber or rubber-like material, are not adversely affected by cold, do not require lubrication or upkeep, and have a life which is commensurate with that of the boot.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

In an insulated boot of double wall construction throughout the bottom and the upper, said boot having inlet and outlet openings at the heel end thereof, said openings being located immediately adjacent to and above the heel of said boot and connecting the interior to the exterior of the boot, a compressible element situated at the bottom of the boot at the heel end having an impervious external membrane and being divided symmetrically into two halves by an impervious intermediate membrane, compressible porous means within said halves of said element forming two independent pump elements, said inlet and outlet openings being connected respectively to said pump elements, a pair of conductors connected respectively to said pump elements, said conductors extending forwardly and upwardly from said pump 5 elements and extending along the sides of and between the walls of said boot for delivering air into and extracting air from the toe end of the boot at a point spaced above the bottom of the boot, said compressible element being alternately compressed and allowed to expand during the act of walking, and valves associated with the inlet and outlet openings and with the conductors for controlling the direction of flow of air through the pump.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Christian Aug. 21, 1866 Perkins Apr. 26, 1870 15 

